25 July 2011

Mr Lucien Wong, Chairman, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

Mr Lam Yi Young, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

RADM Ng Chee Peng, Chief of Navy

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. I am pleased to join you today at the official opening of the Port Operations Control Centre in Changi, or POCC-Changi in short. Today's gathering of maritime leaders underscores the importance of POCC-Changi for Maritime Singapore.

Singapore's Commitment to Navigational Safety
Singapore sits strategically on the crossroads of trade between Asia and Europe. We have the world's busiest port by vessel arrival tonnage with more than 127,000 vessels totaling 1.92 billion gross tons calling at our port last year. We are also at the heart of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, which is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, carrying about one-third of the world's traded goods.

As a premier hub port along important trade routes, Singapore places a strong emphasis on the safety of navigation to sustain the flow of maritime trade. At the core of our navigational safety measures are two Port Operations Control Centres (POCCs) that the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) operates in Tanjong Pagar Complex and PSA Vista. These POCCs are nerve centres that leverage on technology and partnerships with various maritime agencies to ensure the safe and efficient management of vessel movements in and around Singapore's waters. They are complemented by well-maintained traditional aids to navigation such as lighthouses and buoys. Singapore also works closely with the other littoral states, Malaysia and Indonesia, and user States through the Co-operative Mechanism to enhance navigational safety in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.

Positioning for Growth
Growing Capacity
While these efforts have served us well, we need to invest in additional capacity to enhance the safety of navigation as demands on our port and shipping lanes grow. We thus began to develop a third POCC in Changi in 2009. After almost three years in the making, I am pleased to announce that POCC-Changi has been fully equipped with the next generation Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS), which provides a comprehensive sea situation by integrating information from several tracking systems such as radar, AIS, HARTS and CCTV images. This new VTIS is able to monitor nearly 10,000 vessels at any one time - twice the capacity of the current system.

Leveraging Partnerships
Leading-edge technology may form the nucleus of the POCCs but it is the highly skilled Vessel Traffic Management (VTM) operators and the strong partnerships with stakeholders that ultimately enable the POCCs to deliver their mission with a high level of operational efficiency. Our VTM operators have played an instrumental role in the development of POCC-Changi. Their knowledge and experience were invaluable in the design of the new VTIS and the layout of the Centre. This user-based approach not only shortened the system training for our operators, but also created a conducive working environment for them to perform at their best.

The development of POCC-Changi would not have been a success without the support of the maritime community, including each and every one of you present here today. In particular, the unique integration of POCC-Changi within the Changi Command and Control Centre exemplifies the strong cooperation between MPA and the Republic of Singapore Navy. With your continued support, I am confident that POCC-Changi will set new heights for vessel traffic management and strengthen the safety of navigation in our region.

On that note, I am pleased to declare POCC-Changi open.

Thank you.

1The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is an automated tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels. The Harbour Craft Transponder System (HARTS) is similar to the AIS but is generally used by smaller vessels such as the powered harbour craft and pleasure craft in Singapore.